How Can “Exercise Is Medicine” Fit Into Your Lifestyle?
In the same way that we know that smoking is bad for you, we know that exercise is great for your health. It is well researched and documented that exercise can both prevent and manage many precursors to chronic disease, such as blood pressure, blood glucose, bone density, and more. Whether you or someone you know has preexisting conditions or a family history of chronic disease, there is definitely a way in which exercise can improve your health, and potentially without relying heavily on pharmaceuticals.
If you or a loved one are new to exercise, it is important that you discuss your new exercise journey with your physician as there may be contraindications if you are on medication, for instance.
But how does exercise improve these markers for blood pressure, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, and more? Organizations like Exercise Is Medicine Canada and the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology work with physicians, researchers and scientists to create the appropriate health guidelines for you and your family to stay healthy, with or without preexisting conditions. I've included a number of their resources and goodies in this post!
Without getting too anatomical and physiological, here are the ways that exercise can be that recommended dose of medicine that you're looking for:
Having a family history of heart disease can predispose you to also having heart disease. Regular cardio (e.g. 150min moderate to vigorous aerobic activity weekly) can significantly decrease your inherent risks.
Although moderate intensity is recommended (for the most benefits), exercise has been shown to reduce your blood pressure values within a single session, regardless of the chosen activity! A meta-analysis demonstrated that exercise has acute effects, showing that a single session had an average reduction of 4.8mmHg of systolic blood pressure; 3.2mmHg of diastolic blood pressure. Some subjects that have hypertension achieved normal blood pressure values either shortly after or within a 24hr time span (Carpio-Rivera, E. 2016) (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4914008/) . Thus, exercise is a huge component to cardiac rehab due to its therapeutic effects.
I'm sure you have felt your mental health declining over the past year, during the pandemic. If you haven't been using exercise as a coping strategy, you may be missing out on its benefits towards improving your mental health.
Physical activity, in all forms, has been proven to reduce anxiety and depression. Exercise does this by inducing blood circulation to the brain and influences the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal glands, all of which react and respond to stress. In addition, this increased blood flow to the brain also stimulates the limbic system, which controls motivation, mood, and memory formation.
Studies also show that these effects are enhanced if the activity is structured, at a moderate to vigorous intensity, and promotes an increase in focus and attention to the exercise being performed.
Feeling sluggish? The answer may be in your gut!
Exercise has been proven to improve gut motility via peristalsis, which is the involuntary contraction of your gastrointestinal tract which helps to digest and move food through the bowels. This movement is important for reducing and preventing inflammation, as a lack of movement through the gut can cause dysfunction and disrupt the absorption of nutrients. If the gut can't absorb nutrients, essentially all the good nutrition is being excreted, leaving you incredibly fatigued.
One of the most common signs of low GI motility is constipation, which may cause discomfort and pain associated with increased gas, abdominal bloating and physical difficulties in passing stools. While the disorder-disease association is still under debate, chronic constipation itself remains a widespread problem.
If the body has trouble managing carbohydrate metabolism, this can unfortunately lead to complications.
Type 2 Diabetes is a disease that is mostly induced through lifestyle behaviours. Fortunately, with diet and exercise, it is possible to reverse, reach and sustain normal blood sugars without medication (with physician guidance).
Physical activity, especially resistance training, is particularly helpful for managing free-floating glucose, lipids and triglycerides. Muscular contraction increases the affinity of glucose to the muscle cell, which helps with its absorption and metabolism.
With resistance training, the effective dose for managing blood glucose tends to be at least 3 sets of a given exercise, for approximately 8-10 reps of that exercise, at moderate intensity, at least 3 times per week. Although sedentary behaviour is far risker than exercising with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes, minimizing the risk for exercise-induced hypoglycemia should be evaluated and discussed with a health professional.
Osteoporosis can affect both men and women differently.
For post-menopausal women, they may risk up to 2% bone loss in the spine and hips per year after age 60. For men, they tend to be older upon diagnosis, therefore their complications can be more severe.
Weight-bearing exercises, such as squats, lunges, and pushups, have been shown to improve bone density and reduce the risk for osteoporosis. Resistance training can both stimulate and sustain bone density by responding to the increased loads and ground reaction forces placed on the affected muscle groups. Working out at a moderate intensity tends to be the greatest factor when improving bone density.
Organizations like Exercise Is Medicine Canada, the Canadian Society For Exercise Physiology, and I share the same philosophy. Physical activity can be prescribed as a means to prevent and manage many chronic diseases and improve the quality of life of Canadians.
If exercising regularly feels overwhelming, try to observe a healthy 24 hours instead. How many hours of the day are you sedentary? How many hours of good quality sleep are you getting? It may be easier to approach movement over the course of each day, rather than looking at fitting in several sessions of activity over the week. In addition, your form of exercise can be broken up into smaller parts. A 30min session can still yield benefits with 3 x 10min bouts instead.
Using Exercise To Manage & Prevent Chronic Disease - The Latest Episode On “Your Fitness Fix”!
To further this blog post, check out the latest episode of “Your Fitness Fix” where I briefly discuss and summarize the ways in which exercise can improve and diminish symptoms of metabolic disorders.
Exercise Of The Month: Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat
Any split squat variation is great for building strength and propulsion in gait and your daily activities. Having the rear foot elevated focuses late propulsion, meaning your push-off during gait is biased. Equipment is not necessary to reap the benefits of this challenging and effective exercise! Check it out.
We've made it through over a year of the covid-19 pandemic. We've encountered stressful and challenging times with work, family and friends, but you're still here. Celebrate your resilience and patience through it all. You're amazing! Keep doing your best to maintain those healthy habits, as that has contributed to your success and beyond. Have a great June and enjoy the sunshine!
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Francesca McKenzie is a Registered Kinesiologist and Personal Trainer of 15 years with experience in rehabilitation, strength & conditioning, performance and wellness.
